Protest by Islamic group 'appalling'

In a statement, the Prime Minister added that the Wiltshire town has assumed a "special significance" which should be respected.

"I am personally appalled by the prospect of a march in Wootton Bassett," he said.

"I believe that we as a nation should honour those brave servicemen and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

"Wootton Bassett has a special significance for us all at this time, as it has been the scene of the repatriation of many members of our armed forces who have tragically fallen.

"Any attempt to use this location to cause further distress and suffering to those who have lost loved ones would be abhorrent and offensive."

The plan by Islam4UK to parade along the town's high street with empty coffins, symbolising the Muslim victims of the conflict in Afghanistan,

has been widely condemned by politicians, civic leaders,

and mainstream Muslim

groups.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said he would have "no hesitation" in supporting a ban on the march if police or the council requested one.

"I find it particularly offensive that the town, which has acted in such a moving and dignified way in paying tribute to our troops who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, should be targeted in this manner," he said.

"The people behind this stunt seek only to incite hatred and discord."

Tory leader David Cameron also condemned the proposed march, accusing Islam4UK's leader Anjem Choudary of seeking "cheap publicity".

"I think their views are completely reprehensible to the overwhelming majority of not just the British public, but British Muslims as well," he said.

"Anjem Choudary is one of those people who needs to be looked at seriously in terms of the legality of what he's saying because he strays, I think, extremely close to the line of encouraging hatred, extremism and violence."

Wootton Bassett has unwittingly become the setting for families and members of the public to share their grief for the fallen soldiers who pass through the town after being repatriated at nearby airbase RAF Lyneham.

Local civic leaders urged Mr Choudary to reconsider the plan, while a Facebook page against the march attracted more than 120,000 members.

The Mayor of Wootton Bassett, Steve Bucknell, said: "The people who attend the repatriations no doubt have a wide range of views about the conflicts, but those views are not voiced in our High Street, out of respect to those who have lost their lives and those who grieve for them."

Mr Choudary sought to justify the march in a long letter posted on his website – entitled "To the families of British soldiers who have fallen" – in which he mis-spells the town's name. "It is worth reminding those who are still not blinded by the media propaganda that Afghanistan is not a British Town near Wootton Basset (sic) but rather Muslim land which no one has the right to occupy," he said.

"The procession in Wootton Basset is therefore an attempt to engage the British public's minds on the real reasons why their soldiers are returning home in body bags and the real cost of the war."